The problem with Consolidate is that it creates a new File ID (which is not the same as File Name). Because of that, consolidated media won't automatically relink when you send it somebody with the same sequence. Automatic Duck Media Copy is a good tool which will find the original media and copy that. For whatever reason, it never worked well with Avid bins referencing media on a NEXIS, but the easy work around was to export a linked AAF and then run Media Copy on that. There is also a program called MDVx, which is free and supposed to work well, but I've never used it. The other way to properly copy the original Avid media and have it automatically link up is to export an AAF, and set the media to go to a folder and set it to copy as opposed to consolidate. The media will link up when shared with other people because in this case, the Avid is aggregating and copying that original media without changing the File ID.

First, use the "Select Right" button, then click Shift Option and click "Select Right" and it should select only the filler. You can then use the yellow arrow and hit delete to delete those gaps. What might help is you can subsequence just the picture and do that separate from the sound.

I've known editors who've transitioned directly from Reality Editors to Scripted Editors. In general, it's more likely to be a transition as an Assistant Editor, so stepping back down is a good idea, but it's not the only way. Indy's & Low Budget are also a good way to do it. In my case, indies where my way of getting into features. I had almost given up on getting into features, as I had experience in scripted TV. I got a chance to work on a low budget indie which was union, but was a bigger pay hit than I wanted to take. That got me experience in features which was invaluable, and immediately after I got on another Indie (my first gig with Larry) which was also a pay hit, that I debated not taking for monetary reasons. That 1 year or so of living leaner than I wanted was absolutely worth it, in my opinion. It gained me valuable experience and resume pieces that really helped. As to how do you determine what gig will be worth the effort. You don't. You really don't. You take a risk. As to finding an avenue to a path, it's all about relationships. Meet people, being bold can help, but make sure it's about the relationship and not the job. Friends first, not what you can get out of them because they'll smell that a mile away.

The continuity isn't designed to work that way, so you're looking more at a complete redesign than a modification. You might be able to accomplish that by creating a portal per episode, with each scene going into a child record based on those episodes. I'd look into Filemaker tutorials that demonstrate creating portals and sort summaries.

I don't use Vertical Blinds. I draw a series of right triangles in animatte across the screen. I've found that diagonal lines make it easier for my eyes to catch differences. You can also consider a difference matte using the BCC Composite effect or the free Blend-X Plugin (However that plugin, while free, does not come in a native Apple Silicon version, so you'll need to install it and run Avid in Rosetta mode), though I don't use difference mattes because it can hide subtle differences, for example I once worked on a show where our dailies lab has applying a slight sharpening and it was too subtle to show itself in a difference matte. Regarding catching subtle speed effects, it comes down to how particular your editor is. I generally allow a +-1x tolerance for speed effects because different program will use different math to calculate frame interpolation. If it must match 1:1, you should definitely convey that to the VFX vendor or DI department. That said, you really need to check those manually and sometimes with interpolation it really does come down to a judgement call.